The 160-minute-long video was discovered by sharp-eyed netizens after it was uploaded on a Japanese porn site last Saturday.

It stars popular Japanese porn star Aoki Misora and depicts a couple on holiday in Singapore.

In between visiting tourist spots and trying out local delicacies, including laksa and prawn noodles, the couple find time for some action in their posh hotel suite.

There is also a scene which features the female lead cavorting in a bikini at the Infinity Pool at MBS.

In response, a spokesman for MBS said that this was a case of unauthorised filming and they will be looking into the matter.

Controversy aside, could this film provide exposure for Singapore?

After all, there are several glossy scenes which look like they come right out of an advertisement for our sunny island.

Mr Joe Baladi, CEO of the branding consultancy brandAsian, thinks that the Singapore brand, which has been well-established and respected for years, does not need this kind of publicity.

He said: "I am not sure in what kind of universe any brand might benefit from an association with porn. Brand Singapore, in particular, is certainly not in need of this kind of 'endorsement'.

"On the contrary, any association to any manifestation of vice would greatly harm the image of the brand and erode its enviable equity."

Public relations consultant Tang Li disagreed. He thinks that the video may actually be good publicity for Singapore, although it is hardly the kind of promotion that the authorities are looking for.

He said: "Controversy aside, the video shows the sides of Singapore that we want to show off to the international community.

"It is not as if they are using sleazy and low-class locations like (the back lanes of) Geylang," he added.

But is filming the video legal?

Criminal lawyer Chia Boon Teck said that the law prohibits the filming of a pornography film in Singapore under the Undesirable Publications Act.

Section 11 of the Act covers anyone who "makes or reproduces, or makes or reproduces for the purposes of sale, supply, exhibition or distribution to any other person... any obscene publication knowing or having reasonable cause to believe the publication to be obscene".

If convicted, the maximum penalty is a fine of S$10,000 and/or two years' jail.

But he noted that as the people involved in the video are in Japan, it would take a lot of resources to track them down.

Mr Chia said: "This is a 'victimless' crime. Who is the victim in this case? As a matter of practicality, it is just not worth the resources that have to be deployed.

"Even if the police manage to track them down, they would have to work with the Japanese authorities to prosecute these people in Singapore."

"I am not sure in what kind of universe any brand might benefit from an association with porn. Brand Singapore, in particular, is certainly not in need of this kind of 'endorsement'."